Hazelnut & banana smoothie

Breakfast today! But this smoothie would also work really well as a healthy mid-afternoon energy boost or post-gym with a spoon of protein powder added. I would probably use whey protein as it has a neutral taste, but if you want to keep the smoothie vegan then use pea protein - it does have a distinct taste though which will change the overall flavour if you use too much!

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 400ml hazelnut milk

• 160g banana, frozen

• 2 tbsp chia seeds

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed

• 2 tbsp oats

• 1 tbsp maple syrup, optional

Method

• Blitz!

Energising blueberry smoothie

Sunny days make me want to drink smoothies, so here’s my spring favourite so far. It’ll give you an energy boost any time of the day as it’s packed with protein, iron and Vitamin C!

Ingredients

Serves 1

• 150g frozen blueberries 

• 20g fresh spinach 

• 2 tbsp oats

• 250g nut milk or organic whole

• ½ tbsp white chia seeds

• ½ tbsp maple syrup, agave or honey

Method

Blitz well and drink!

Energising strawberry smoothie

I know I always say it, but this is my new favourite breakfast smoothie!! I probably should say, this is my latest smoothie obsession…. loving the strawberry for a change as I haven’t had any in the freezer for a while.

By the way, I always use frozen fruit in smoothies as it naturally chills the drink and is way cheaper than buying fresh. I also freeze all my brown bananas that no one will touch, so they don’t ever get wasted anymore. I added a medjool date for a little sweetness, but this is optional if you want a lower sugar drink. Personally I think it brings out the flavour of the strawberries though, so my advice is - chuck it in! Also, I always use plant milk in my smoothies, but you switch for cow’s if that’s what you have in or you prefer the taste. The same goes for all my smoothie recipes.

Anyway, hope you enjoy, it made me feel all cheery and spring-like today, along with my new green hoodie!

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 160g frozen strawberries

• 60g frozen banana

• 1 tbsp chia seeds

• 420ml nut milk or organic whole

• 1 medjool date, optional

• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed, optional

Method

• Blitz really well, especially if you’re adding the date.

Mango, pineapple & coconut smoothie

As I’m always saying, I love a smoothie for breakfast, especially at the weekend before exercise and then I’m ready for a big brunch. But I also like to quickly make one if I’m rushing out in the morning (remember those days?!), or even to give me an energy boost in the afternoon. This recipe has a lovely tropical flavour to help you forget at it’s October and transport you to a sunny beach somewhere. Ok so that’s probably stretching the limit of it’s capabilities, but Covid is shit and this tastes good, so at the very least it might just be a little highlight in your day!

Ingredients

Serves 2

• 90g mango

• 90g pineapple

• 60g banana

• 2 tbsp chia seeds (white look a lot nicer)

• 400ml coconut milk drink - my favourite is by Rude Health

Method

• Put all the ingredients in the blender and blitz well, so the chia seeds have all broken down and have thickened the smoothie.

Tip

• Where possible use frozen fruit so you don’t need to add ice. Most supermarkets sell a good range of bagged frozen fruit which works out way better value than fresh. If you need to chill your smoothies then just add 2-3 ice cubes to the blender with the rest of the ingredients.

• I never throw away bananas that are a little past their best and going brown, I peel and break them in half then freeze in a sealed bag for smoothies. They’re naturally sweeter when they’re browning and taste really good in smoothies.